Transfer Pension Question

[pennypincher]

I had a pension in a private company I was paying into for less than two years.The company matched my contribution for the same period.I was made redundant as a result of the company relocating to eastern europe,and stopped my contributions.I received a letter last week asking me did I want to deferr it until I'm 65(not worth it at it's current value) or transfer to a PRSA.I am now working on a temp contract in the public sector and wanted to know the following:
Can I transfer the money into the state pension ?
What are the penalties if I cash it in?

 

[LDFerguson]

Can I transfer the money into the state pension ?

If you're on a temporary contract I assume you're not in a public service superannuation scheme? But perhaps I'm mistaken.

If you mean the Contributory State Pension, this is entireley assessed on your PRSI contributions throughout your career and you cannot contribute to it, per se.

What are the penalties if I cash it in?

You may or may not have the option to cash in your entitlements at this point. If you do, the value will be taxed and you will forfeit the value of the employer's contributions. You will also have lost almost two years of saving towards your pension.

As well as transferring it to a PRSA you couls also transfer to a Buy Out Bond (Personal Retirement Bond), a lump sum pension product created for such purposes.